Chapter 29
I don't think I said anything wrong, but... to my utter dismay, I was ignored again.
After I casually said, "You can just say you like me," the blond youth across from me went into complete silence and wouldn't answer any of my questions.
"...Seriously," I muttered, kicking the air as I walked behind him after leaving the restaurant, "Is liking me something so shameful?"
Even if that's not true, there's no reason to be unhappy after hearing it.
He ignored me and continued walking. I leaned out in front of him and waved my arms:
"Hello, can you hear me?"
He glanced at me briefly, then continued walking forward without looking to the side.
"Tell me," I asked, "what exactly are you unhappy with about me? You can't think of any reason to dislike me."
...After asking several more questions, he finally stopped walking only after my persistent questioning.
“Miss Adrian,” the blond youth said in a cold and serious tone, his dark eyes equally unfathomable, “I told you, I don’t like your jokes.”
That firm reply pierced me like an ice blade; to be honest, I had never encountered such an attitude before.
The mother was always calm and authoritative without being angry, while Illumi's terror did not lie in his coldness.
As for the others, even the legendary leader of the Phantom Troupe, who is the most dangerous in the legend, is always gentle in front of me, with a hint of helpless indulgence.
No one has ever been so mean to me before.
I stared at him for a while.
“I don’t like the way you talk to me either, sir.” Then I raised my chin and said to him, “If I have offended you at this moment, I will apologize, but it is you, not me, who has been ignoring and disrespecting others more all along.”
“Of course,” I said, then changed the subject, “I know you have no obligation to be friendly to me, and I may be a burden to you, but you were the one who initially dragged me into this accident, and you were the one who promised to protect me… In the process, I used some methods that you may not like, but in the end, none of them were implemented, and you and your friends were not harmed.”
"In fact, I'm the one who's hurt right now," I concluded. "I can understand that you don't want to tell me your name; I can also understand that you're angry because I offended you; but... being angry because 'I think you like me' is the one who's offended."
"Am I not good enough for your affection?" I asked, staring into his eyes.
He frowned, turned his face away, and his originally cold and hard gaze softened.
“We’re probably not discussing the same issue, miss,” he said in a flat tone.
“Fine,” I said, looking at him defiantly, “then let’s discuss my problem first, and then yours. What exactly are you dissatisfied with about me?”
He pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and his gaze seemed unfocused.
Anyway, they didn't make eye contact with me.
"Hey," I said, unable to wait any longer, shaking the shopping bag in his hand. "Say something."
The wind stirred the clouds, the sunlight gradually dimmed, and a shadow fell from the sky.
The streets were nearly deserted, with people hurrying by, while the roads were clear and cars sped past.
Everything was quiet and slow, just right.
The strands of hair that had been tucked behind his ears had somehow come loose and were now fluttering lightly around his neck in the breeze.
"..." After a long silence, I heard his faint voice, which seemed to come from a distant, other direction.
I didn't hear "what" clearly.
Another silence followed.
After a long while, the blond youth's calm and composed voice rang out again, this time much clearer.
“I’m not dissatisfied,” he said. “I’m just used to being alone. If I’ve made you feel uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
He kept apologizing, but his tone showed absolutely no remorse.
"What a coincidence," I said with a smile, deliberately softening my voice. "I'm used to joking around with people too. If I've upset you, I'm sorry."
Upon hearing this, he turned his head and looked at me.
I kept smiling, meeting his gaze with a slight curve to my lips.
Their eyes met, and after what seemed like an eternity, he was the first to look away.
Just when I thought he would get upset again, he said in an ambiguous tone, "...Never mind."
Where to go next?
He suddenly asked casually.
"...Ask me?" His change of heart was so sudden that I almost didn't react at first.
“Well,” he said, as if he were an emotionless paper doll, “you decide.”
This person is always like this; when there should be interaction, they suddenly act like a broken receiver, giving no immediate response and being so indifferent that it's discouraging.
I was clearly provoking him just now...
Why can he act like nothing happened?
He can scold me, he can give me cold stares and mockery... but why is it that after hearing all this, he can suddenly revert to his original cold and indifferent demeanor?
This is even more upsetting than a lesson.
"Where do you want to go?" I felt annoyed, but I couldn't find a way to vent my frustration. In the end, I could only suppress my unhappiness and ask unhappily.
“There’s no such place,” the blond youth said.
"Weren't you going to some kind of employment agency?" I asked.
“They’re already closed at this time,” he replied.
"You never thought of going anywhere except the employment agency." I can hardly imagine how boring his life must be.
"I haven't thought about it." He shook his head, giving an affirmative answer without further explanation.
I blinked and looked at him for a while longer.
To be honest, I rarely see anyone more bored than me.
In a sense, he can also be considered a master.
I think.
“Okay,” I said, “let’s go back to the hotel first, I’m tired.”
He didn't raise any objections, but his attitude wasn't much better either; I still managed to give him a verbal dressing-down, maintaining my previous cold demeanor.
—This guy is too difficult to deal with.
I was very dissatisfied with his indifference, so I shut my mouth and went back to the hotel. I sat on the sofa with the remote control in my hand, puffed out my cheeks and watched TV, actively refusing to have any further conversation with him.
I have a temper too.
I just can't understand it. All I'm doing is getting him to admit he likes me, or appreciates me, and then treat me a little better. Is that really so hard?
hateful.
I already said I just didn't want you to treat me like this.
I'm going back to find Hisoka and play with him! At least Hisoka isn't so cold!
I really brought this on myself.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. When the blond young man reminded me that "the TV is too loud," I deliberately pressed the volume up button on the remote control several times.
He sighed and bent down to reach for the remote control I had tossed onto the table.
Without saying a word, I reached out and snatched it.
He stopped moving, his arm hanging in mid-air.
I pretended to put the remote down, and he reached out and moved it.
I quickly hid the remote control behind my back.
He wasn't paying attention, and his arm followed the remote control, but his body remained still, almost causing him to fall on me.
I stared at him coldly.
He braced himself against the sofa, straightened up again, and then sighed softly.
I pretended I didn't hear anything.
“Ray.” Then I heard him call my name.
“…Lei.” This was the second time.
"Lei." (Third tone)
Every time he calls, I turn the TV volume up one notch.
His voice rose as he spoke, and by the time he finished the last sentence, the third sentence, he was probably tired of shouting and fell into a brief silence.
Then he restored his normal volume and suddenly asked:
Do you want to know my name?
My hand stopped on the volume button, but my ears involuntarily perked up after hearing those words.
“My name is…” he said slowly.
I listened intently.
He suddenly grabbed the remote control with the chain and drastically turned the volume down several notches!
“You cheated!” I realized what had happened and jumped up to protest.
"All's fair in war." He casually slipped the remote control into the crevice of his pillow.
"I won't listen...give it back!" I struggled to get past him and snatch the TV remote back.
He easily pushed me away with just one hand—that's the advantage of having long arms.
"No." He refused me with a serious expression, as if we were discussing some important national issue.
"Give it back!" I continued, jumping up and down. "I hate you!"
“You never liked me anyway.” He sat firmly.
"No!" I answered firmly, continuing to jump. "I like you."
His movements faltered.
Without the obstruction, I easily jumped onto him and reached for the remote control.
The phone next to the bed lit up; it was the communication device belonging to the blond young man beside me.
I looked in the direction of the sound, and just as I was about to see the screen clearly, he reached out and flipped the phone over, placing it face down on the table.
"Don't joke around." He repeated this sentence for who knows how many times.
"I'm not kidding." I immediately cracked a joke without hesitation.
He stared at me intently.
The TV stereo was still playing program sound effects at a low pitch, the neighbor was washing their hands by the tap, and the phone on the bedside table rang again with unread messages.
He sighed softly, very softly.
Then, he slowly picked up his phone from the bedside table, opened the unread messages, and handed it to me.
When I finally read the words above, he uttered the name I had always dreamed of—
“My name is Kurapika,” he said. “...I really can’t take a joke, Ray, my friend is waiting for you.”
I can't hear any more sounds.
The text of that unread message, along with the sender's name, immediately grabbed my attention.
The sender's name in the notes section was Killua.
Killua Zoldyck.
His friend is my fiancé's younger brother.
...This world is a huge circle, and no matter how I go around in circles, I can never leave the very beginning.
Everyone was connected to the Zoldycks, which stirred up the hatred and resentment I had long harbored for this family.
...
I reached out and covered the screen with my palm, blocking the name on it, unwilling to look anymore.
“But I don’t want to wait for him,” I said. “I’m leaving the Zoldyck family, and you said you would help me.”
“He will take you away,” he said.
“I don’t want him,” I heard my own voice clearly say, “I want you.”
--------------------
Completed works in this column include "My Volleyball Club Boyfriend," "After My Online Romance with Killua," "[Hunter x Hunter] Monster Love Diary," and "My Control-Type Boyfriend is Under My Control."
My upcoming novel is titled "What's Wrong with Liking Rukawa Kaede?"
Dating Non-Humans
"The Xianxia Otome Game Restarts for the Fourth Playthrough"
"Falling in Love Inside Your Phone"—please add it to your favorites if you like it!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
